Compressor



- A. MUNOZ Dec. 23, 1952 COMPRESSOR 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed April 24, 1947 INVENTOR.

Patented Dec. 23, 1952 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 1 1 Claim. .1

The invention herein disclosed relates to compressors;particularly those ofthe type employed "*for' refrigeration.

Objects of the invention are to provide an em- .cient machine which in particular will be of simple, inexpensive construction, easily assem- 1 'ble'dand disassembled. and in which individual parts, if Lrequired, can be readily replaced at low-- cost.

Particularly it I is a" purpose of the invention 'to' enable the machine being readily kept in 'propertoperating condition and thus toavoid, as farz'as possible, any special servicing requirements.

Particular objects of the'invention are to pro- .videiimproved valve mechanism, to assure full isandradequate lubrication :of 'all Working parts :;and otherwise assure continuous satisfactory operation of the machine.

Other important objects attained by the invention are set'forth'or will appearin the course of the following-specification.'in which the various features of the invention are describedand broadly claimed.

Fig. 1 in the drawing is a vertical sectional view ofone of the compressors;

Fig. 1a is an end view of the'pulleyclamping hub.

Fig. -2 is a horizontal sectional view 'as on .line .2--2 .of'Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a face view of the vcombinedcrank and counterweight;

. 1Tig.4'is an enlarged andbroken' vertical cross sectional view. as onsubstantiallyrthe plane of .line 44 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a similar sectional lviewion'the'plane atright angles thereto, err a plane substantially .-.,corr.e spnding to that appearing. in Fig. l;

. Fig. 6 is a plan view looking at theunder side ofone of the valve guide discs;

.Fig. 7.is a plan of oneofthe valve elements.

Asshown in Fig. 1, the machine is preferably made up with a single casting. providing :an integral connected cylinder It and crankacase H, with a cover ..I2 closing thevopen end of the-crank .case and carrying a long bearing for the'crankshaft [3.

Thelatter is unusual inthat it is of plain cylindrical construction,-having a reduced cylindrical portion-14 at the inner end to carry the crank structure. and a reduced :ycylindrical extension 15 at the outer-'endtocarryzthe rotary seal '16 and the drive pulley H.

The bearing form. the crank-shaft .also 7; is fun- .usualain that-.itiis :ma'denp of cylindrical-bear- 'ing bushings 13; -.|9,-set into the oppositeinner and outer ends of theelongated bear-ing housing 20 carried by the crank case coverlLwith annular space 2| left in said housing-between the inner ends of the bushings to-provide a'distributing chamber for oil collecting in'the pocket 22 in the top of the bearing housing. This-collector 22 isshownas having drains 23 and 24, leading, respectively, to the chamber -2| surrounding the shaft and to theinner end member 25 of'the rotary seal at the endof theouter bearing bushing.

This constructionassures full and complete lubrication ofthe shaft without necessity for oil grooves or the like.

"The'piston 26 may be of conventional'design but preferably it is constructed with quintuplicate bronze piston rings such asindicated at 21.

The connecting rod Z8may be of conventional design, except forthe fact that it is made so that the large bearing-29 at the crankend will 'permit the crank-pin 30 to be slipped longitu- 1 setscrew36 enteredzthrough the side of the arm.

The crank-throw is counter balanced by a weightsegment 31 at the opposite side of the center socket 35 fromthe crank-pin.

Insecuring' the combination counterweight and crank assembly in position, themounting portion M of the shaft may be drilled to receive the inner end of the positioning and securing'set screw 36. 1

The pulley :is shown as having a hub portion 38 to fit the reduced end portion I5 of the shaft and L'split at 39 to be gripped on the shaft by a clamp bolt/40 traversing a cross'groove '41 in .the side of the shaft to act'as a key. Thisforms a simple and rugged combination for-firmly keying the pulley in place.

The rotary shaft seal I6 is shown as enclosed Within a tubular cap 42 screwed on a hub portion 43 at theouter end of the bearing housing. Theouterl-end of this screw cap may be closely adjacent the pulleyhub, substantially as shown,

so that upon removal ofthepulley securing bolt -nrascrew llvthecap may be unscrewed, and by abutment with the pulley hub, be operated as a "wheel puller to loosen or force the pulley off the shaft.

To similar effect, by leaving the pullev fast on the shaft and loosening the crank securing screw 36, the can 42 mav be unscrewed to pull the shaft out of the crank and counterweight member. the latter o eration being easily performed after removal of the crank-case cover assembly.

The crank-case is shown as having a filling plug 44 and a drain plug 45 in the closed side of the same.

A special feature of the drain plug 45 is that it is located at the lowest level in the crank-case and that it is eouipped with an elongated permanent magnet 46 extending inwardly across substantially the entire interior of the case to pick up any magnetic particles that may be present in the oil or result from wear in the machine.

A gage glass 41 is shown set in the end of the crank-case at approximately the crank-shaft level, for enabling inspection and ascertainment quantity and character of oil in the crankcase. This sight glass is of special value in enabling conditions to be corrected, such as might be experienced from the oil getting low in the crank-case.

The valve mechanism is of special design, comprising thin spring sheet metal discs 48, 49, confined by guides 56, to the under and upper sides of a plate 52 secured by bolts 53 between the end of the cylinder and cylinder head 54.

The cylinder head, as particularly shown in Fig. 4, has an inlet 55 at one side and an outlet 56 at the opposite side adapted to have the usual service valves and piping directly attached thereto.

The inlet socket 55 in the head is shown as having a passage 51, Fig. 4, opening downwardly into a passage 58 in the valve plate 52, and the latter passage is shown as having openings 59 near the center of the plate into the space within an annular valve seat ridge 60. The inlet valve disc 49 is arranged to engage this annular seat, as shown in both Figs. 4 and 5.

Similarly, there is provided on the top of the valve plate an annular valve seat 6| engageable by the outlet valve 49.

An inclined passage 62 is shown extending from the under side of the valve mounting plate 52, inwardly and upwardly to within the space bounded by the annular valve seat ridge 6|.

The spring valve discs 48, 49, may be alike and even duplicates, and they are shown as having each four radiating arms 63 to locate and guide them in correspondingly arranged slots 64 in the overstanding guide plates 50 and 5|.

These valve guide plates 50, 5|, likewise may be of duplicate construction, being so shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the bottom or inlet valve guide 50 being shown as secured by screws 65 to the under side of plate 52 and the upper guide 5| secured to the upper side of plate 52 by screws 66.

The radiating spring arms 63 of the valve discs may be bent somewhat, as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5, to normally tension the valves in the opening direction.

To avoid gumming or sticking action of the valve discs, the inlet passage 51 in the head may be continued on down through the valve plate 52 and down into the top of the crank-case, as indicated at 61, Fig. 4, this serving in substance as a drain to trap oil or the like out of the entering gas and pass it down into the crank-case.

The valves, being of light spring metal, respond instantly to pressure pulsations and maintain continuous efficiency. They may be inspected and replaced readily by simply removing the cylinder head and the valve plate which it holds in place. If desired, a complete new plate with valves mounted may be substituted in place of a used assembly.

All parts are readily assembled or disassembled, inspected or replaced on removal of the crankcase bolts 3|. The entire crank-shaft assembly may be withdrawn without disturbing the piston and connecting rod and without having to remove the cylinder head or other parts. The machine is protected from magnetic particles or cuttings in the lubricating oil by the magnetic plug 45 in the bottom of the crank-case, which may be removed at any time for inspection or cleaning purposes. The gage glass in the end of the crankcase enables inspection of internal parts and oil level and correction of conditions that otherwise might not be known to exist.

The various parts of the machine are of simple construction, easily produced, low cost and, where possible, interchangeable. The oil pocket in the top of the bearing housing automatically feeds a proper supply of lubricant to the shaft and insures that the shaft will have suflicient lubrication for starting after a long period of idleness. The bearing bushings can be easily replaced at low cost. The shaft, being of plain, cylindrical construction, also can be replaced at low cost. The plain form of the cylinder makes it possible to use liners therein and smaller size pistons for smaller capacity compressors. In using such liners smaller diameter valve retainers 56, 5|, would be employed, of a size to so within the smaller diameter of the liners, instead of within the full diameter of the cylinder, as in Fig. 1.

Various other changes may be made, all within the true intent of the invention.

The ends of the passages in the valve plate, particularly at the discharge side, may be chamfered, beveled or rounded about the edges to avoid or reduce the vacuum efiect usually created at the ends of straight-through passages of a single diameter.

The plug 68 closing the end of the passage 58 in the valve plate may be screw threaded in place, thus to be removable for connection with this passage of a low pressure control, gage or other device.

While particularly important as a compressor for refrigeration, it will be realized that the invention may be used as a compressor for air or gases for any purpose.

The gage glass 41 is shown in Fig. 1 as secured in place by a gland nut 69, but may be secured in other ways as by means of a spring snap ring, the latter in some instances being preferred as being simpler and eliminating the need for tapping the opening in the crank-case to take the gland nut.

What is claimed is:

A compressor of the character disclosed having a crank-case with a removable end cover, said crank-case cover having a bearing housing projecting into the crankcase and provided with an oil pocket in the top of the same open to the crank-case, a shaft journaled in said bearing housing and an annular oil chamber about the intermediate portion of said shaft open to and receiving lubricant from said oil pocket, a rotary seal at the outer end of said bearing housing in communication with said oil pocket for lubrication therefrom and an enclosure for said rotary Number Name Date seal having a screw mounting on the crank case 1,335,955 Cox Apr. 6, 1920 cover, said crank-case cover having an annular, 1,382,334 Williams June 4, 1921 screw threaded hub projecting from the outer 1,507,524 Steurs Sept. 2, 1924 side of the same over the inner end of said 5 1,609,582 Snider Dec. 7, 1926 rotary seal and said enclosur being a tubular 1,628,755 Tanner May 17, 1927 cap having the inner end of the same screw 1,673,932 Baxter June 19, 1928 threaded in adjustable, removable, sealing en- 1,693,812 Edwards Dec. 4, 1928 gagement over the screw threaded hub extension 1,769,030 Lassen July 1, 1930 of the crank-case cover and extending from said 10 1,986,905 Wegener Jan. 8, 1935 hub in completely enclosing relation about the 2,005,959 Smith June 25, 1935 outer end of said rotary seal and said rotary seal 2,047,420 Lee July 14, 1936 having a sealing element rotating with the shaft 2,195,812 Czarnecki Apr. 2, 1940 and having a, rotary sliding sealing connection 2,318,181 Myers May 4, 1943 with the outer end of said stationary tubular 2,339,048 Bixler Jan. 11, 1944 cap. 2,417,197 Hewitt et a1 Mar. 11, 1947 ALFRED MUNOZ. 2,522,231 Loftis Sept. 12, 1950 REFERENCES CITED FOREIGl: PATENTS Number Coun ry Date i g; ifi g g l i ii are of record in the 491,412 Great Britain Sept. 1, 1938 UN STATES PATENTS 656,855 France May 14, 1929 b N Dat OTHER REFERENCES g -3: g Man 26,e1395 American Machinist, Oil Window, page 160,

1,320,103 McClellan Nov. 4, 1919 January 241 

